Saint-Gobain Inagurates its State-of-the-art Research Centre with an investment of Rs. 200 Crores at IIT-Madras Research Park, Chennai

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Selvi J. Jayalalithaa, inaugurated Saint-Gobain Research India’s (SGRI) new, state-of-the-art, cross-functional Research Centre in Chennai in the presence of Mr. Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of the Saint-Gobain Group on the 29th January 2016.

In line with Saint-Gobain’s strategic focus on sustainability, in general, and sustainable habitat, in particular, SGRI is committed to finding innovative solutions to the challenges of energy efficiency, environmental protection and enhanced comfort for daily living. While SGRI’s primary objective is to support Saint-Gobain’s existing businesses in India and the region, it will also pave the way for developing new businesses for the region. SGRI will achieve this through developing, maintaining and nurturing transversal competencies, building partnerships with India’s premier academic institutions and establishing key linkages with Saint-Gobain’s global Research Centres.

With an investment of about Rs.200 crores, the new Research Centre is a world-class R&D facility spread over 120,000 sq. ft. It will focus on developing innovative and sustainable solutions for Saint-Gobain’s existing businesses (the major product lines include: abrasives, glass for architecture, glass for automotive, gypsum plasterboard and plasters, high performance ceramics and plastics etc) and will enable the Group to accelerate its growth in the region. Unique to this Centre will be its focus on establishing multi-comfort in buildings as well as affordable housing and new competencies that will enable it to develop sustainable habitat solutions for hot and humid climates including the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa.

Speaking on the occasion, Pierre-André De Chalendar, Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain, said, “India is an important market and investment destination for Saint-Gobain. Over the past twenty years, we have made significant investments in developing new sites and new markets, in building world-class plants, in technology and in people. All these investments have enabled the Group to establish its presence across India and to grow rapidly. In line with the Government of India’s “Make in India” initiative, today, more than 95% of our local sales are of products manufactured in India. Being an innovation-led global Group, Saint-Gobain is committed to and consistently invests in its R&D efforts and facilities. SGRI represents a key step towards further strengthening our global R&D network and towards serving our customers in the region by developing innovative and sustainable products and solutions to meet their needs. I am indeed very happy to be here for the inauguration and am impressed with our outstanding team of scientists and engineers and with this truly world-class Research Centre.”

Anand Mahajan, General Delegate, Saint-Gobain - India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, said, “Since its inception three years ago, SGRI has led the way in developing products and solutions that have exceeded the expectations of our customers. The inauguration of our permanent home is a milestone event for Saint-Gobain as it steps into its 351st year. We are confident that SGRI’s growing pool of carefully chosen scientific and engineering talent will contribute a great deal to the development of the Saint-Gobain Group in India and worldwide in terms of new products and processes, of advancement in science and technology and of intellectual property. Today, SGRI has about 100 scientists and engineers who have come from various parts of India and the world and have brought with them expertise and experience in different areas. Eventually, this Research Centre will be home to more than 250 scientists and engineers.”

Anand Tanikella, Director, Saint-Gobain Research India, commented, “The brightest Indian minds from across the world (with PhDs from reputed institutes such as MIT, USA; Ecole Polytechnique, France; University of Tokyo, Japan, etc. in addition to top class institutes in India) are currently working at SGRI. We will continue to strengthen what is already a diverse talent pool. We aspire to develop cost-competitive solutions for our customers through co-development and ‘Innovate in India’ to develop solutions beyond India. Working closely with designers and architects, we also plan to develop sustainable habitat solutions for hot and humid climates through basic and applied research in building science. In doing all this, we will continue to partner with IIT-Madras and other premier academic institutions. ”

As a part of the inauguration event, a Research Symposium was conducted on Thursday, January 28, 2016, where 40+ distinguished faculty from universities across India as well as eminent scientists and leaders from science & technology organizations visited the Research Centre and addressed the group or participated in the discussions.